One Hope Then Another
by Mika-cha
Summary: (Ryuki, Jurato) Two years have passed since the battle with D-Reaper. New Jr. High life seems perfect... but personal conflicts begins to surface for each tamer... Meanwhile, a familiar prescense approaches them, deleting the ones they care about most...
1. The Beginning of a Second Season

Hedo! ^-^ Anyways, a few notes before I start. In Japan and Korea, junior high is actually three years, so I'm going to use that in the story. Just to clear up some things. And Ryo is only two years older that the rest of the people. I know people say he's four years older, but in my story he's two. Capeesh? Okaie! ^-^ Bleh. and if you still don't get it, just go with the flow. If you're still confused, just im me or e-mail. ^^;;; Oh and. for those who like Jenrya x Ruki. I don't think you should read. I like the couple and all, but I need it to be Ryuki to go with the story. I'm sorry!   
  
Shaochung (Suzy): 7 Takato, Juri (Jeri), Jenrya (Henry), Ruki (Ruki), Hirokazu (Kazu), Kenta: 12 (Junior High 1st year) Ryo: 14 (Junior High 3rd year)  
  
Okaie. On with the story! ^-^  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Disclaimer: Anything you know or see that isn't mine, it isn't mine! So that means anything relating to Digimon isn't mine! So there! The only thing that's mine so far is my story! Don't copy!  
  
NOTE: If the text appears in reallie weird symbols and everything (xX; I hate it when it does that), just right click, and then click "Encoding". A list should appear next to it, and click "Unicode." It should look better after that. ^^; If it doesn't, please tell me in the reviews, okaie? :D  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter 1  
  
~*~  
  
"Oi, Dad? I'm home." a young teen said as he came into the dim apartment. He carelessly turned on the lights and found his father, lying on the couch. He cringed at the sight of his dad, and slowly walked to his room, attempting not to wake his father up. Too late for that.  
  
"R..yo...?" his dad replied, sounding half-drunk.  
  
'Oh shoot...'  
  
His father lazily got up and stared at his son, giving him a half-asleep reprimanding look.  
  
"You... know... that you shouldn't come home so late, you know..."  
  
"Yeah... ehe... I know," Ryo said as he cautiously walked towards his room.  
  
"And WHERE do you think YOU'RE going?" his father asked, raising his voice.  
  
Fear grasped Ryo by the heart as he watched his father prowl towards him.  
  
"Did you d-drink again tonight?" he stuttered, now side-walking towards the front door.  
  
But his father gave no answer. Instead he lunged towards Ryo, clumsily but with force. Ryo was caught off guard and felt immense pain go into his stomach. His dad had plummeted his head into Ryo, and now watched his son slide down the wall in pain. He gave a lopsided smirk and then delivered a swift but heavy punch towards Ryo's shoulder.  
  
"Come on, Ryo!"  
  
All this time Ryo was silent even though the pain in his stomach and shoulder was unbearable. He got up slowly and ducked another punch that was for his head. He then ran towards the door, grabbed his jacket, ran out of the apartment, having just enough time to slam the door in his father's face. At that moment he knew that he had a chance to get away from his father, even if his father was still conscious. He rushed out onto the streets blindly, and didn't get a chance to see the person in front of him. He gave out a gasp and ran into the person straight on, causing him to trip and fall on his head, falling into unconsciousness.  
  
~*~  
  
"Jenrya!!! JENRYA!!!!!!" a little girl's voice screamed as she shoved her sleeping older brother. "WAKE UUUUUUP!!!!!!!"  
  
"Wut...?" Jenrya mumbled as he sat up slowly.  
  
"DIGIMON ZERO TWO IS OUT! YAAAAAAAY! FWINALLY!!" Shuichon exclaimed as she raced out of her brother's room.  
  
"Wha...?" It took a few more seconds for him to actually understand what his little sister had said. "Oh... what? Digimon... Zero Two?!" he cried as he himself rose out of his bed to see the brand new season. He dashed towards the living room and plopped himself next to Shaochung.  
  
'Jeez... after two years of waiting the second season finally comes out...' he thought as he watched the opening. 'Funny how the first season of the tv show ended when our adventure started... maybe another similar thing will happen this time...' He gave out a laugh. 'I seriously doubt that. Our adventure ended a long time ago...' he thought sadly as he reflected back, not really paying attention to the new season.  
  
'Terriermon...'  
  
~*~  
  
Ryo groaned as he opened his eyelids slowly. Light danced around and it playfully touched his face, momentarily blinding him until his eyes adjusted to the amount of brightness. 'I'm... on a bed? What?' he thought, still half-asleep. 'I'm in a room... whose room...? Egh... what happened..?" His mind was in a daze as he vaguely tried to remember of the events that occurred last night.  
  
"I came home... from the game... at what...? 7:00 at night... yeah... then... oh... Dad..." he said miserably as he buried his face in his hands. "Then... I ran outside... and crashed into someone..." he continued, mumbling. He lifted his face. "Where exactly am I...?"  
  
The door slowly opened as a familiar face peeked in. Ryo raised his eyebrow in surprise.  
  
"Takato?"  
  
"You're awake. Great!" the boy replied warmly as he came into the room with a tray that had apparently Ryo's breakfast.  
  
"Wha... Takato?" Ryo still asked, incredulously.  
  
"Yeah, it's me," Takato replied as he set the tray down on his desk. "Long time no see, huh?"  
  
"Well... dur!" Ryo exclaimed as he practically jumped out of the bed. He sat down with his legs crossed and faced Takato. "It's been what... two years now?" he said, grinning.  
  
"Yeah," Takato replied, grinning back.  
  
"So how's it been going here in this side of Shinjuku?"  
  
"Er... well... Nothing much really. Same old same old. But school starts tomorrow," Takato said as he made a face.  
  
"Really? Mine isn't starting until this Wednesday," Ryo said with a cheeky smile. "Wait... aren't you going to be in Junior High this year?"  
  
Takato nodded. "Oh and guess what? We're all gonna be in the same school now!"  
  
Ryo looked puzzled. "Who're we?"  
  
"You know, the-"  
  
A cell phone rang in Ryo's pocket unexpectedly, cutting Takato off in mid-sentence. Ryo answered his phone after giving Takato an apologetic hand gesture.  
  
"Hello? Ryo speaking."  
  
"Ryo?"  
  
It took a moment for Ryo to realize who it was. "Dad...?" Ryo asked disbelievingly.  
  
"Where are you right now?"  
  
"I'm... at my friend's house..."  
  
"Oh. Great. Stay there."  
  
"What?" Ryo asked, confused. "You're not going to pick me up?"  
  
"No. Well, I mean..." Ryo heard a sigh from the other line, "Stay there for the time being if you can."  
  
"What? Why?" Ryo asked, this time alarmed.  
  
"I... I don't think... that you should be with me right now..."  
  
"..."  
  
A few more seconds of silence passed until a yell was heard from downstairs.  
  
"Takato? Is your friend awake yet?" Mrs. Matsuda called, breaking the tension in the room.  
  
"Oh, yeah! He's fine! Ryo? What?" Takato looked at him, puzzled. The older boy made some more hand gestures. "Er... Oh... Mom! Can you come up here for a sec?" he called.  
  
"Yeah sure! Hold on for a moment," she replied back.  
  
"Sorry about that," Takato whispered to Ryo.  
  
"It's ok," he replied. "Dad? Can you hold on for a second?"  
  
"Yeh, sure. Just hurry up," Mr. Akiyama replied gruffly.  
  
Mrs. Matsuda came into the room as she wiped her floured hands onto her apron. "Did you want me here, Takato?"  
  
"Er... Well, actually, Ryo wanted to ask you something, I think."  
  
"Uh... right. Um... I was wondering if... it was okay if I stayed at your house for a little bit..." Ryo stuttered guiltily.  
  
"For what reason?"  
  
"Ah... er..."  
  
"Tell her that I'm going somewhere important and I need to have you here with somebody," Mr. Akiyama said flatly.  
  
"Er... My dad is going out of town for a while unexpectedly, and he needs somebody to take care of me. And I don't have any relatives living here," he said. "So he's wondering if I could stay with one of my friends."  
  
Mrs. Matsuda began thinking. Takato fidgeted a bit during the silence. Finally, Mrs. Matsukda smiled and looked up at Ryo.  
  
"You're welcome to stay here."  
  
"YES!" Takato exclaimed. He grinned at Ryo who grinned back. They exchanged high-fives before Ryo spoke with his dad.  
  
"I heard everything. Tell your friend's mother that I said thank you," Mr. Akiyama said.  
  
"Okay then. Hey, is it all right if I go right now to get my things?" Ryo asked hopefully.  
  
"Yeah, sure. I'm probably gonna be out, and you know where the hidden key is, right?"  
  
"Yeh, yeh," Ryo replied carelessly. All of a sudden a thought struck him which made him quiet and tense. "Dad... um... when am I going to see you again?"  
  
"I'll come visit you when I feel all right. So don't worry about missing me," his dad replied.  
  
Ryo smiled. "Sure then. See you... I guess..."  
  
"Bye."  
  
As Ryo put away his cell phone back into his pocket, he bowed down to Mrs. Matsuda and thanked her profusely. She laughed and said to not to worry about it as she went back downstairs to the bakery. When she was gone, the two boys cheered for their good turn of events as they both rushed down after Mrs. Matsuda and out of the bakery to get Ryo's belongings from his home. They talked for quite a bit along the way and the way back. It was around two in the afternoon when the two boys were seen walking along with some luggage towards the Matsuda bakery.  
  
"So, what junior high are you going to?"  
  
"Hikari Shinjuku Middle School."  
  
"Hey! That's where I go!" Ryo exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"Crazy! This is so great!" Takato exclaimed. But then he turned suspicious, "Hey... wait a minute... how come you start school on Wednesday, but my friends and I have to go tomorrow?"  
  
"Oh, that. Well, every first years go earlier to get prepared. You know? Kinda like an orientation... for two days," Ryo said with the same cheeky smile. "At least, first years get two days for themselves. After that you have to stand second and third years," he continued as he grinned.  
  
"Oh, shut up."  
  
"By the way, how was everyone else? Like Lee, Juri, and the others?"  
  
"They're the same, I think. Lee being there for everyone, Kazu still cracking bad jokes, and Kenta being... er... Kenta," Takato said with a guilty grin as Ryo laughed. "And Juri's still being the same sweet self," he muttered as he blushed slightly.  
  
"Have ya asked her out yet?" Ryo asked mischievously. Heee... I wonder...  
  
Takato spluttered and turned bright scarlet. "W-why would I do something like that?"  
  
Ryo stared at him in disbelief. "It's been what. more than two years of you liking her? And you still never had the nerve to ask her out?"  
  
Takato stayed silent, although his face was indicating his answer. Ryo just sighed and put his hands behind his head.  
  
"You better ask her out this year before she gets taken, you know?" Ryo replied nonchalantly.  
  
Takato looked at him in surprise. "What does that mean?"  
  
"Well, obviously since you're going to a new school with new people, there are going to be people who will fall for Juri. I mean... she's sweet, cute, and a normal pretty girl. Something that all guys would look for. Well, prolly all guys except fer me."  
  
Takato just stared in surprise. Ryo nodded expertly. "Mmhmm. Exactly. So my advice to you is to ask her out this year."  
  
Takato lowered his head. "I don't know..."  
  
Ryo smiled and patted Takato on the back. "Hey. Don't worry about it too much. You'll get through. I mean, Juri obviously likes you back, you know."  
  
Takato gave a small smile back at his friend. "I guess... Thanks, Ryo."  
  
"Hey, no problem saving a tamer in distress."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
Ryo snickered as he watched Takato become red once more. Suddenly he lifted his eyes in surprise.  
  
"Eh! I almost forgot to ask you," he exclaimed. His voice changed to a slyer and more teasing manner as he asked, "How is our dear Digimon Queen?"  
  
Takato laughed before he answered, "She's grown nicer these days. Well, I don't if the word 'nice' would actually fit her, but yeah. I guess you can say she sort of broke her icy shell a bit. Still acting tough, but more open now."  
  
"Heh..." Ryo muttered. He then smiled. "That's great! She's finally warming up. I mean... the last time I saw her she rarely smiled..."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Mmhmm."  
  
"What do you think about Ruki?" Takato asked out of nowhere.  
  
This caught Ryo off guard. "Wha.?"  
  
"I mean like. you know. What do you think of her as?"  
  
"Ah... well... I miss her a lot, that's for sure... but... I think I only like her as a younger sister.. I treat all of you like younger siblings for goodness sake," he replied as he smiled. Takato didn't look too happy though.  
  
"What?" Ryo asked.  
  
"It's... nothing... Forget it."  
  
"O... kay... I guess..."  
  
~*~  
  
"Nanaki..." Mr. Akiyama said, drunk again as he clumsily came into the apartment. He turned on the light and stumbled around, not remembering to take off his shoes. "I want to see you again..." he mumbled as he stepped into his computer room. His fingers fumbled around until they pressed the power button on the computer as he plopped unsteadily onto his chair. As the computer got started, he walked around awkwardly, knocking into things as he went by. When the familiar ring from the computer indicated that it was ready, Mr. Akiyama sat down shakily and grabbed the mouse. He let his head bang onto the table and let it rest there to let the alcohol effect slowly wear down. When his dizziness was gone, he looked back at the monitor to stare at the picture which was the wallpaper of his account. A woman was standing there next to a younger version of him with two toddlers walking around their legs. He reached out and gently touched the face of the woman and then suddenly slammed his fist onto the table. He was sobbing and buried his face with his other hand.  
  
"If only that didn't happen... stupid digimon and the digital world... they took her away from me..." he mumbled inbetween sobs. Suddenly the screen of his monitor went black without any reason. Mr. Akiyama looked at it in shock and was thoroughly shaken when a voice started to talk to him from the computer.  
  
"Keisuke Akiyama... you want to see your darling Nanaki again?" it said. The voice was familiar... but he couldn't point out when or where he heard it before. It sounded sort of like a computer female voice, only more abnormally strange and intimidating. Mr. Akiyama was pale and apprehensive when he answered feebly back at it.  
  
"I... want to see her... more than anything the whole world..."  
  
The voice gave out a mirthless laugh that caused him more than uneasiness. "I can give you that chance, Keisuke... to go to her again..."  
  
"R-really?"  
  
"That is... if you do me a favor..."  
  
Keisuke narrowed his eyebrows suspiciously. "What kind of favor...?"  
  
"Don't you want to get rid of all digimon and its world?" it asked silkily.  
  
"Not... all..." he stuttered, remembering Monodromon and its bond with Ryo.  
  
"After all they have done to you... of course, you do..." it commanded more than suggested.  
  
Mr. Akiyama suddenly felt hazy and dim. He was getting tired quickly as his eyes started to droop. "If you help me Keisuke... I can help you see her again..." it said smoothly.  
  
"If... I help you... you can help... me... see... Nanaki... again..." he replied monotonously.  
  
"That's right... now come to me, Keisuke... lend me your body..." it hissed.  
  
Keisuke walked up slowly to the monitor, and reached out a hand to touch the screen. The screen glass had melted already as bluish-black ooze slowly dripped out of the monitor. At once when he placed his fingers on the so-called "screen," the dark blob poured out rapidly, enveloping him altogether in the bluish-black glop. Unearthly light of the same color of the goop streamed out of the apartment for only a few seconds, when all of it disappeared unexpectedly all together... the light, the blob, and Ryo's father.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
So how is it so far? Bleh... I'm sorry if this is really boring so far. I'm planning it to be really good, but then none of my works never turn out good so... yeah. ^^;; Well, if you desperately want to flame you can, but please be gentle. It does really hurt when a person discourages another. Weh. btw if the characters are OOC, please tell me. I want to make then in- character as much as I can. And don't worry Ryuki/Ryouki/Ryoki etc. fans! It will turn out to be a Ryuki! ^-^ I'm sorry if there is any inconvenience and please tell me if there is. Things will get smoother and easier to understand later on, so please bear with me. Thank you!  
  
IM: Digiberry // E-mail: mika_aka_digiberry@hotmail.com  
  
~*Mika*~ 


	2. Start of Junior High

Hedo! ^-^ Thank you so much for the kind reviews!  
  
To Terrie: Yes, I am kinda ignoring the puns they made on the 2nd season. Sorry if that was an inconvenience. And about the school days thing, Takato asks about the same thing and Ryo answers it for him in the previous chapter. ^^;; I'm sorry if it was really confusing...  
  
On with the story! ^-^  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Disclaimer: Anything you know or see that isn't mine, it isn't mine! So that means anything relating to Digimon isn't mine! So there! The only thing that's mine so far is my story! Don't copy! ^^;  
  
NOTE: If the text appears in reallie weird symbols and everything (xX; I hate it when it does that), just right click, and then click "Encoding". A list should appear next to it, and click "Unicode." It should look better after that. ^^; If it doesn't, please tell me in the reviews, okaie? :D  
  
~*~  
  
(Review from last time)  
  
Keisuke walked up slowly to the monitor, and reached out a hand to touch the screen. The screen glass had melted already as bluish-black ooze slowly dripped out of the monitor. At once when he placed his fingers on the so- called "screen," the dark blob poured out rapidly, enveloping him altogether in the bluish-black glop. Unearthly light of the same color of the goop streamed out of the apartment for only a few seconds, when all of it disappeared unexpectedly all together... the light, the blob, and Ryo's father.  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter 2  
  
~*~  
  
Juri fell to her knees. She clutched her heart as it throbbed unbearably like it had done two years ago. An uneasy feeling washed upon her as she slowly got up once more.  
  
"Juri!" her stepmother exclaimed as she ran towards her. "Are you all right?" she asked, concerned as she gently helped Juri up.  
  
"I'm fine," she replied with a smile. She still clutched the front of her baby blue shirt and had to lean on her stepmother for support. "I just had a slight shock. That's all."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes. Please don't tell Papa. I don't want to get him worried," she replied.  
  
"If... that's what you want..." her stepmother said uneasily as she led Juri into her room.  
  
"Thank you..." Juri replied with the same warm smile. But the smile soon faded when her stepmother was gone out of the room. She lay down on her bed and faced her digital clock, which just changed its number to 7:06.  
  
'What was that...? So familiar... so horrid... so...' She shivered as she turned towards her window. The skyscrapers blinked as lights turned on and the city streets twinkled as the street lights came on. She gazed outside fondly at her hometown, and then turned her back on her window.  
  
"Whatever it was... I get the feeling that something bad is going to keep on happening... something really bad..."  
  
She fell asleep only a few moments later, forgetting everything in the morning about what happened last night...  
  
~*~  
  
Jenrya hummed as he fixed on his tie for his uniform. The morning sun streamed in from his window as it lightly reflected off of the mirror he was facing.  
  
"Bleh, it's all crooked... but I guess it will do..." he said as he tugged as his collar. "But this is really uncomfortable..." he muttered as he loosened the tie once more.  
  
"Where did they get the rule of junior high wearing uniforms...? Don't they know it can cause people to go insane?" he asked as he tugged at his collar again while reaching for his school bag. He checked his watch as he went out of his room.  
  
"Better go wake Shuichon up..." he said as he went into her room.  
  
A few minutes later he was preparing breakfast for himself and his sibling as she slowly came out of her room with her clothes all on the wrong places. Sock on her hands, jacket turned around, shirt inside-out, but at least she got her pants on correctly.  
  
"Oh, Shuichon..." Jenrya said, exasperatedly as he came up to his half- asleep sister.  
  
"Wha..." she murmured, sleepily as she vaguely saw her brotherly fix her clothing. She felt herself being picked up and placed onto a chair. She smelled food, and opened her eyes immediately when she smelled the scent of pancakes.  
  
"Nii-chan! You made these?!" she exclaimed happily. Jenrya smiled and nodded as he watched his sister gobble down the treat he made for her. He sat down in his own seat and also ate his meal in a much more collected way than his sister. But then again... seven-year-olds will be seven-year- olds...  
  
Soon... a yell was heard from outside the apartment.  
  
"Lee! Where are you?" a familiar voice cried out.  
  
"Ack!! Shuichon! Let's go!" he said hurriedly as he ate down the rest of his breakfast. Shuichon bit the last of hers in time before she was whisked away by her brother who ran out the apartment with her, his bag, and her pack.  
  
"Got to go, Mom! Dad, you're going to be late too if you don't get out sooner or later! Well, see you!" he cried as he shut the door.  
  
"Darn it... after I woke up early just for the first day of school, I end up being late again..." he muttered as he waited impatiently for the elevator to come. Shuichon didn't mind the time and stayed in her brother's arms as she licked her sticky hands contently.  
  
"Jeez! What took you so long?" another familiar voice cried when Jenrya came out, panting, from his apartment. Four of his friends waited outside. Three being patient, one being very impatient.  
  
"Sorry, guys..." he said.  
  
"Shui!" little voices cried out from below him. He looked down in wonder and found his sister's friends, begging him to let Shuichon be with them. 'When did they ever get there...?'  
  
"Koko! Datane!" Shuichon exclaimed happily as Jenrya placed her on the ground. After an exchange of 'hi's, Jenrya crouched to his sister's height to talk to her.  
  
"Go to school with your friends carefully, okay, Shuichon?" he asked.  
  
"Sure!" they chorused all together. He sweatdropped.  
  
"Ehe... okay then. See you later."  
  
"Bai bai, Nii-chan!"  
  
Jenrya waved at the kids until another one of his friends spoke up dryly.  
  
"You done yet, Lee?"  
  
"Yeah," he said as he got up to join his friends.  
  
"It's about time!" Hirokazu exclaimed. "What took you so long?" he repeated loudly.  
  
"Ah... well... My sister and I were eating kinda slower than usual... So yeah," he replied while laughing nervously.  
  
"Whatever, dude," Kazu said carelessly as he placed his hands on the back of his head. The girl next to him rolled her eyes.  
  
"Would you stop being so thick-headed?" she drawled. "Seriously, you haven't changed a bit since I first met you."  
  
A giggle was heard behind them. They all turned around and found Juri walking up to them. Somehow she looked cuter than usual today. Maybe it was because of her two pigtails or just her cute smile. Whatever the reason might be, Takato turned slightly pink when he saw her, being kindly reminded of yesterday's talk with Ryo.  
  
"Hey, everyone!" she said warmly as she walked beside Ruki.  
  
"Hey," Ruki replied, flashing one of her rare smiles.  
  
"School's gonna be a drag..." Kazu complained as he walked along. "We have to wear these stupid uniforms that you can hardly breathe in, and we get stricter rules, and especially more studying!"  
  
"What's so bad about studying?" Kenta asked, innocently puzzled.  
  
Kazu stared at Kenta as if he was some alien. "What do you mean 'What's so bad about studying' ? Of course, studying is bad! Bad, bad, very bad!!!" he exclaimed with passion.  
  
"It makes my head lose information about more important junk such as cheats and codes for my games! Or the statistics of the latest sports! Or-" he continued, ranting and raving, including extra physical movements for exaggeration. Kenta listened with wide eyes. Once in a while he would try to butt in, but Kazu would just overrun his sentences, cutting Kenta in mid- sentence and finishing his own sentence. The rest just ignored or at least tried to ignore Kazu as they started their own conversations.  
  
"Well, at least half of the things he said are true," Jenrya commented.  
  
Ruki rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised that you're even listening to him."  
  
"How can you not? I bet his voice reaches a radius of at least two kilometers," Jenrya retorted.  
  
"I HEARD THAT!!!"  
  
Ruki grinned at Jenrya who was startled by her sudden smile. He then grinned back at her.  
  
"They were only joking, Kazu. Calm down," Takato said as he managed to stifle a laugh. Kazu pointed his nose up haughtily as his friends laughed at him.  
  
When their laughter had subsided, they found themselves in front of the entrance of their new school. It was similar to their old elementary campus; only about everything was two times larger except for the main building. They walked on, going into another conversation, also noticing a lot of students like themselves: First years.  
  
"So... what classes are you guys in?" Kenta asked as he glanced at his schedule sheet.  
  
The group stood in front of the main building as they took out and looked at each other's papers.  
  
"Hey! You and I are in the same class, Jenrya!" Kazu exclaimed.  
  
Jenrya looked very surprised. "Wha.? Which class?"  
  
"History!"  
  
Jenrya groaned silently. Since history wasn't really the liveliest class, Kazu had the huge chance of bugging him throughout the entire period...  
  
"I'm in that same class and that period, too," Takato remarked, grinning at his friend. Jenrya sighed in relief. At least there was somebody who he can actually talk to.  
  
"You, Juri, and I are in the same class, Lee," Ruki pointed out.  
  
"Uh huh. Cooking!" Juri cried happily.  
  
"Darn it..." Takato murmured. "I wanted to be in the cooking class with you guys..."  
  
"Don't worry about it, Takato. Look, we have art together," Juri said as she smiled and pointed at her sheet.  
  
"And we're all in the same class for P.E.! What luck!" Kazu exclaimed once more.  
  
The school bell rang that very moment signaling all the students that they were supposed to be in class now. The group exchanged goodbyes for that moment and headed off towards their own rooms. Ruki and Jenrya went one way while the others went in the opposite direction.  
  
"Do you have the same class as me?" Ruki asked without turning back.  
  
"What class do you have?" he asked, being used to Ruki's usual disposition.  
  
"I have Geometry. The rest have Pre-Algebra. Then again, I think Juri and Takato's in Algebra." Ruki laughed softly. "I think I'm becoming a nerd."  
  
Lee laughed. "I guess we're in the same boat."  
  
"Terrific. Somebody to talk to during all of those complex proofs." she said unenthusiastically as they both went into their classroom.  
  
"I hope we're not the only first years in the class," Lee whispered.  
  
"Wanna come sit next to me?" Ruki asked as she picked out a seat.  
  
"I guess. Since you're the only person I know in here," he said as he sat down next to her.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Egh... I'm not going to enjoy this class..." Lee muttered as the teacher came into the room.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"We're going to be surrounded by people who are older than us. Who knows what they might do to us..."  
  
Ruki giggled. "Don't worry too much about that. Who knows? The day after tomorrow there might be somebody we might actually know."  
  
~*~  
  
This Morning  
  
"Hey Takato! I'm gonna wander around town a bit okay? So don't be surprised when you don't find me later on the day in your house!" Ryo yelled as Takato was leaving his house for school.  
  
"Sure! No problem!"  
  
"Oh, and Takato!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Try not to tell anyone I'm staying at your place!"  
  
"Why?!"  
  
"Just!" Ryo yelled back as he went the opposite direction of Takato.  
  
"Okay. I guess." Takato said as he watched Ryo go off.  
  
/end of This Morning  
  
Ryo wandered around town as he replayed the scene in his mind. He smirked and thought, 'I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they find out that they're going the same school as me... but wait... What if some other people tell them I go there... Egh... Oh well, I guess...'  
  
He walked to past his apartment, not noticing it the first time, but did a double-take to realize that it was his home. He stopped for a moment at the entrance. 'I wonder how Dad is right now... since it is the daytime... I guess it wouldn't hurt peeking inside for a bit...' he thought as he gazed up at one of the windows of his house.  
  
When he reached his door, he hesitated several times, but finally made up the decision to knock on the door. He turned the knob by curiosity and was surprised when the door clicked open. He glanced inside and slowly opened the door as he came in. He widened his eyes in shock. The room was a total mess inside. Dents were on the walls; rugs, chairs, and small tables were overturned; and stains were all over the place. The only things that looked stable were the incredibly huge things such as the fridge, sofa, t.v., etc. Ryo walked and looked around in still in disbelief of what happened.  
  
"Dad couldn't have done all of this... could he?" he muttered. He tried to correct some things by turning the items that were fallen right-side-up, but it was all too depressing for him to fix every little thing. He sighed miserably as he plopped onto the couch.  
  
"Dad..." he groaned. "What's going on...?"  
  
He buried his face in his hands once more as he muttered over and over, "It can't be Dad... It just can't..." He felt as if suddenly a heavy object plunged into his heart, causing it to be a burden to know that his father's condition was just getting worse.  
  
As he covered himself in self-misery, he didn't know zephyrs of blue wind slowly radiating out of him. They seemed to blow gently or creepily out of Ryo's body and into the computer room. While Ryo sunk deeper and deeper in his thoughts, the winds slowly became thicker and thicker until nothing was visible except for Ryo himself. But to Ryo, he didn't see anything, but the pitiful face of his dearest and closest relative.  
  
~*~  
  
Another immense pain erupted from Juri's chest as she clutched her heart one more time. This time it was more extreme, causing her to take irregular deep breaths. She felt her lungs burning and saw black dots just before she fainted to the ground.  
  
"Hey Juri! What do you think of my-Juri!!!" Takato exclaimed as he turned around to see her lying the floor. The heads of the class turned to see what was going on.  
  
"Juri, what's wrong?!" he asked frantically as he gently shook her.  
  
"Takato? What's going on?" the art teacher asked as she approached them.  
  
"I don't know! Juri- Juri- I- I found her like this unconscious when I turned around to ask her something!" Takato cried, bewildered at the current situation.  
  
"Calm down, Takato," the teacher said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Take deep breaths. Don't worry so much. She only fainted. It'll be all right."  
  
'ONLY fainted! What!? Are you CRAZY, woman!?'  
  
"Why don't you take her to the nurse's office, Takato?"  
  
"Yeah... sure..." he replied shakily as he somehow got Juri on his back.  
  
"I'll be back!" he said as he rushed out of the room.  
  
~*~  
  
Suddenly, the clock in the room chimed four, waking Ryo out of his thoughts. He looked up slowly, not noticing the blue winds becoming fainter than it was before.  
  
'Oh yeah. School ends at 3:30... Takato and the others must be out!' he thought as he jumped up. "I gotta go see them," he said as he went towards the front door, but stopped as he saw a large dent near the door. He touched it gently and then clenched his fist together.  
  
"I swear... I'm going to find a way to make you better," he muttered under his breath. He glanced at a notepad next to his phone and took advantage of that, writing down a quick message to his father, whether he was actually home or not.  
  
'I'm not sure if you'll read that... but just to let you know where I am...' he thought as he left the apartment, closing the door softly as he had done before.  
  
Ryo walked down the street, going to a familiar area in Shinjuku. He passed by several posters of the famous model, Rumiko Makino... Makino? He stopped for a moment and stared at the poster. 'That can't be Ruki's mother, can it?' he thought. 'They look so different... Ruki...' A scene from two years ago replayed in his mind as he continued staring at the picture.  
  
~*~  
  
"Cyberdramon!" he cried inside.  
  
"Ready!" Cyberdramon replied as he took out his blade.  
  
"Sakuyamon! Listen to me! I want you to send all your power to my blade! Quickly!" Justimon yelled.  
  
"What?! You can't be serious!" Renamon exclaimed.  
  
"Has the fighting gone to your head or something? The force of it could kill both of you!" Rika cried out over the tremendous battle.  
  
"It's a chance I'm willing to take, Ruki! We've tried everything else and we haven't even been able to land a scratch! But with the combine forces of your strength and my blade, we can give the D-reaper something to really howl about!"  
  
"Or you could die! Did you ever think about that, hot-shot!?"  
  
"Well, then they'll be one less person to poke fun at you. Right, pumpkin?" he asked teasingly.  
  
"You big twerp. You're doing all this just to impress me, aren't you?"  
  
"So, is it working or not?"  
  
~*~  
  
Ryo felt himself grow warm in the cheeks.  
  
'Did I actually say that?' he asked himself. 'Oh... jeez...' He turned hotter than ever as he went into the building. 'Manga library... on the second floor... that's right...' he said as he walked up the stairs. 'I called her pumpkin...'  
  
"No! I can't think about... that... now..." he faltered as he passed the shooting studio that was located next to the library. He stopped and stared in utter surprise at the sight before him. Through the glass windows, he saw a familiar reddish-brown hair flowing down the girl's back. Wearing high platforms black boots with flared jeans, she also wore a leather black overcoat with a very familiar shirt with a whole blue heart woven in the middle...  
  
'Ruki?!'  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Waddya think? ^-^ Thank you so much for the reviews! It helped support me very much. *^-^* Ryuki fans dun worry. I didn't label in it the Ryuki section for nothing. ;D  
  
IM: Digiberry // E-mail: mika_aka_digiberry@hotmail.com  
  
~*Mika*~ 


	3. Reunion and Acquaintance

Some Japanese terms I'm going to use:  
  
Sorewa himitsu desu = That is a secret. (Xelloss fans should know that! XD)  
  
Gomen nasai = Sorry in a more polite way (methinks... ;;)  
  
Sensei = teacher  
  
Arigatou = thanks (add Gozaimasu for a 'thank you very much' ^-^)  
  
Mou = jeez  
  
Ano = Er... or um...  
  
Baka = Stupid, Idiot (Same difference. .;;)  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Disclaimer: Anything you know or see that isn't mine, it isn't mine! So that means anything relating to Digimon isn't mine! So there! The only thing that's mine so far is my story! Don't copy! ^^;  
  
NOTE: If the text appears in reallie weird symbols and everything (xX; I hate it when it does that), just right click, and then click "Encoding". A list should appear next to it, and click "Unicode." It should look better after that. ^^; If it doesn't, please tell me in the reviews, okaie? :D  
  
~*~  
  
(Review from last time)  
  
"I can't think about... that...now..." Ryo faltered as he passed the shooting studio that was located next to the library. He stopped and stared in utter surprise at the sight before him. Through the glass windows, he saw a familiar reddish-brown hair flowing down the girl's back. Wearing high platforms black boots with flared jeans, she also wore a leather black overcoat with a very familiar shirt with a whole blue heart woven in the middle...  
  
'Ruki?!'  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter 3  
  
~*~  
  
'Ryo?' Ruki thought incredulously when she noticed the boy, standing outside the studio. It seemed like Ryo... and if he was Ryo, he changed... a lot more than she had thought he looked like now. Ruki visibly noticed the boy was taller, smarter-looking, and definitely more handsome than the Ryo she remembered from two years ago. Ryo *was* handsome from the way she remembered him, but this guy was... better-looking? She rolled her eyes. What has gotten into her lately? Even if it was Ryo, why would she care?  
  
But even though she told herself that, she felt her cheeks grow warm when she noticed he was staring directly at her. Curiosity bugged her till she could contain it no more. She tore away from his gaze and yelled to her mother.  
  
"Oi Mama!"  
  
"Hm?" her mother replied, peeking out of her office.  
  
"Hold on for a sec! I'm going to check something out from outside."  
  
"Yeah sure, just be back in time for the next shoot," she replied, waving her hand lazily.  
  
"Yeh, yeh..." Ruki replied carelessly as she headed over to where the guy was. She felt her heart pounding as she neared closer to the door.  
  
'Why does my heart feel like it's about to pop? It's Ryo, darnit. Just stupid Mr. Perfect.' But even, she could not help, but feel the small tinge of hope inside of her that it was Ryo.  
  
~*~  
  
"Takato!" a sharp voice scolded loudly.  
  
The goggle-headed boy abruptly lifted his head up in surprise, causing his pencil which was balanced inbetween his nose and upper lip to fall noisily onto his desk. He blushed when he heard giggles in his classroom, and his face turned redder under the stern gaze of the teacher.  
  
"Ah... gomen nasai, Hamada-sensei..."  
  
"Please pay attention, Takato," she replied over the giggles from the rest of the class. She coughed to regain attention and then continued her lecture. "Now, if we go back to the 1800's..."  
  
Takato gazed at his teacher intently for a few minutes, listening and trying to copy down all of the important facts, but soon his mind started to wander again as his hand started to draw something random from his head on the margin of his paper. He stopped for a moment and let his head turn and watch the view beyond the classroom windows.  
  
'I hope Juri is fine,' he thought worriedly. 'I just left her there in the nurse's room without knowing what was going on... Why *did* she faint all of a sudden? There's got to be some reason. Maybe it was fatigue. Hm... I just hope she's alright...' He looked back at his paper and continued drawing his incomplete sketch.  
  
In the middle of the quiet classroom, the school bell suddenly rang, nearly making everyone jump out of their seats.  
  
"Remember that your assignment is due when this Wednesday, which is the day when your upper classmen arrive!" Hamada-sensei's voice rang above the din. Nobody seemed to have noticed from their loud and cheery disposition, except for a few such as Takato.  
  
"Wait. What assignment?" Takato asked once he reached his blue-haired friend.  
  
"It's simple. Just write a one paragraph on today's notes," Jenrya replied. Noticing the distraught look on his friend's face, he laughed and handed Takato his notes.  
  
"You could use mine. I already wrote my paragraph," Jenrya explained.  
  
The two boys walked down the hallways in a comfortable silence between themselves since the loud din from the rest of the school did their talking. Finally Jenrya raised his head and looked around, puzzled. Takato raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "What's wrong, Lee?"  
  
"Ano... Have you seen Ruki? I didn't see her since P.E. and that was before lunch."  
  
"Oh... Uhm... oh yeah. She left during science. I heard the teacher say that she had to go to her mom's studio for some shoots. It was strange. She didn't make a sound when she left."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Ano... well, I accidently saw her last year during one of her shoots... and... er... she didn't really have a pleasant look on her face... Seriously, if looks could kill... mou..."  
  
"Ehe... wonder what hap-"  
  
"LEEEEEEE!!!" a loud familiar voice interrupted the two as Jenrya let out a cry of surprise before he fell to the floor. He felt himself being picked up and shook as a voice yelled into his ear, "CAN I BORROW YOUR NOTES?!"  
  
"Don't tell me you didn't write yours..." Jenrya groaned as he began to see stars.  
  
"JUST LET ME BORROW YOUR NOTES!!! PLEASE!?! I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WE HAD TO TAKE NOTES TODAY!!! GIVE ME YOUR--"  
  
"Ano... Kazu, erm... Lee's unconscious..." Takato pointed out nervously. Kazu looked at Lee and shouted again in surprise.  
  
"AAAH! LEE! NOO! DON'T DIE ON MEEEE!!!" he cried out as he continued to shake his friend vigorously. "I NEED YOUR NOOOOOTES!!"  
  
"Kazu..." Takato sighed as he sweatdropped tremendously and watched his friend beat up on Lee, causing heads to turn and veins to pop. "Mou..."  
  
"Takato!" a voice called out from the crowd.  
  
Takato turned around and was enveloped by a pair of energetic arms. It took a moment till he realized who gave him a cheerful bear hug.  
  
"J-J-Juri?!" he asked disbelievingly as he turned a furious shade of red. Juri smiled happily as she released Takato from her grasp.  
  
"Are you all right now?" he asked timidly.  
  
Juri nodded and replied, "I just wanted to thank you for worrying about me."  
  
"Ah..." Takato faltered as he felt his face burn. He lowered his head to hide his scarlet countenance as he replied softly, "N-no problem at all..."  
  
Juri giggled, but stopped abruptly. Takato raised his head, puzzled at the sudden change of behavior, but then realized that she was staring at Kazu who was still at large with his rants.  
  
"Erm... what happened, Takato?" she asked as she pointed at the two, thoroughly confused. Takato sighed and placed his hands behind his head.  
  
"It's... a long story..."  
  
~*~  
  
Ruki stepped outside and walked towards Ryo. She stared at him for a couple a seconds and then realized what she was doing and looked down at the ground immediately, fuming mentally inside of herself. Ryo looked at her peculiarly. 'She changed a lot physically,' he thought, surprised. 'Her hair's longer and glossier... prolly cause of her mom... and she's really... cute!' he continued on, surprising himself to even think such a thing, especially at the former ice queen.  
  
"Ryo?" Ruki finally spoke up. She put her hands to her hips and stared at him thoroughly.  
  
"The last time I checked that was my name," he grinned and winked at the girl. He watched her, widen her eyes in surprised and then glare at him, irritated. He chuckled quietly as he watched her turn a cute shade of pink. From embarrassment or anger? Wouldn't he like to know?  
  
"I was right..." she mumbled. She couldn't believe this. Ryo was standing right in front of her. Ryo of all people. Why not someone else she hasn't seen for in two years? How bout Renamon? But noooo... fate just has to let her meet up with Pretty Boy again. It annoyed her. However... today... she didn't feel as cranky as she was normally.  
  
"Ah, the digimon queen is blushing. For what reason may I ask?" he asked teasingly. Ruki had the idea to shish-ka-bob him right then and there for asking that, but instead she laughed softly. Ryo raised an eyebrow in surprise. 'She didn't kill me. Whoa.'  
  
"Ryo, you jerk... why the hell are you here?" she said as she punched his arm playfully, but weakly.  
  
"Sorewa himitsu desu, little one. So, what's up these days?" he said as he grinned.  
  
"Ah, nothing much, Pretty Boy. How bout--" She lifted an eyebrow as she caught him smiling goofily at her.  
  
"What?" she asked, glancing at Ryo strangely while turning pink once more. 'ARGH. I can feel my face turning warm. Darnit, STOP it, Ryo,' she growled mentally.  
  
"Nothing," he replied, making his grin even wider. Ruki looked at him in a puzzled way.  
  
"You did get stranger over the years, haven't you?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow, then as if hitting on to a conclusion, she raised her finger and pointed it at him. "Hah! I bet you still haven't got rid of your egotistical self! Am I right?" she accused.  
  
"How can you say such a thing?" Ryo asked as he dramatically mocked a hurt face. But then he lightened the mood by grinning cheekily at Ruki. She was caught off guard by the sudden change of conduct and felt her face grow even warmer. 'Red Alert, Ruki. Red Alert.'  
  
"Ugh! Knock off that silly grin of yours!" she cried out as she pushed him. Ryo was taken by surprise and fell backwards, letting out a noise of pain. Ruki smirked in victory of coming over the feeling. She glanced at Ryo, who was very much confused and surprised. His expression made her begin to laugh. At first Ryo looked at her as if she was crazy, but then was taken aback by Ruki's cheerful demeanor.  
  
'She has changed...' he thought as he smiled gently at the laughing figure of Ruki. 'It's so nice to see her laugh...'  
  
"A little help here?" he said after Ruki had ceased laughing while waving his hands around. Ruki shook her head as she helped him up.  
  
"Was it that funny?" he asked.  
  
"Your face was priceless," she replied, smirking. He grinned at her, creating a friendly atmosphere between the two. But soon the impression was shattered. A screech of tires and a desperate cry was heard outside, then followed by an uproar from the spectators. The two friends exchanged worried and puzzled glances and dashed towards the nearest window to find out what happened.  
  
"Oh..." Ryo muttered as he frowned at the scene. A massive truck had collided with an innocent pedestrian in the middle of the street. The poor old man was hit badly and blood was seen gushing out at the side where he was hit. Ruki made a face of disgust at the sight of the red fluid. They soon heard the blare of sirens from police cars and an ambulance, approaching quickly towards them.  
  
"We haven't had an accident in this area in a long time..." Ruki murmured.  
  
"Really..." Ryo replied, still looking down at the collision. He scowled at the display of blood and led his eyes elsewhere, letting them fall onto a person sitting on rail of the rooftop of the parallel building, his legs dangling to the street below. He widened his eyes in surprise at the dangerous act and was about to comment about it, but suddenly blue winds from nowhere caught Ryo's attention.  
  
'What the...? Blue winds?'  
  
He watched the unearthly winds rise up into the air towards the man on the rooftop, then suddenly all of the winds disappeared as if the person sucked all of it into himself. Ryo's mouth gaped open in shock. 'Okay... that's probably not what I thought I saw... I think...'  
  
"Ano... Ruki?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Did you see any blue winds just right now?"  
  
"What blue winds?" she asked, puzzled as she looked around. She then turned to face him. "What are you talking about, baka?"  
  
"Ah, nothing... I must have been seeing things," Ryo muttered. 'Strange... H-hey, I see more coming out of the people,' he thought as he watched the process over again with narrowed eyes. 'The same thing happened...'  
  
"Suspicious..." he thought aloud.  
  
"What's suspicious?" Ruki demanded.  
  
"N-nothing... Hey, I got to go now, k?" Ryo said apologetically.  
  
"Oh..." Ruki said. 'YES. GET OUT OF HERE.' "Then go," she said while using hand gestures implying to 'shoo.'  
  
"Okokok, I'm going!" he exclaimed as he went down the stairs. He stopped suddenly at the bottom and turned around to look at Ruki who was waiting patiently for him to leave. She cocked an eyebrow that meaning "What?" Ryo just smiled at her who became even more confused at his behavior.  
  
"See you at school, pumpkin!" he called with a grin. He ran out of the door just after he saw a glimpse of Ruki's crimson face which had a mixture of confusion, surprise, and embarrassment. He soon heard Ruki yell out from the building.  
  
"RYOOO!! GET BACK HERE!!! GET BACK HERE SO I CAN PUMMEL YOU, BAKAAA!!!"  
  
'Ooooh man... I'm so gonna be dead when I go to school on Wednesday...' he thought as he grinned even wider. 'Now... to more serious matters,' He narrowed his eyes as he started sprinting into the building where all the suspicions began...  
  
~*~  
  
Takato walked down the street, passing by apartments, whizzing cars, and other pedestrians such as himself. Not really paying attention to the busy world around him, he was sunk deep in thought, reflecting back from today's events to the days when he discovered he was a digimon tamer. He was passing by the same park where he kept Guilmon two years ago until he unconsciously took a left into the commons. He kept walking, contemplating about his past adventure until bright flashes of light suddenly attracted his attention. He looked up and was startled to find that the lights came from exactly the same cave which he had kept Guilmon in. Excitement started to fill him as he started to run towards the cave, hoping that the portal to the digital world was open so he could see his old friend.  
  
"Takato..."  
  
Takato stopped dead-on after he heard his name. That voice was familiar... but so weak. He cautiously walked towards the building as he racked his brain to find out who that voice belong to. He peered carefully into the building and was greeted with a bright flash of light. After being momentarily blinded, he glanced out from beneath his arm and was startled to find who was there.  
  
"Guil...mon?"  
  
The red dinosaur-like monster was lying down, mangled with cuts and bruises. Barely alive, he slowly tried to go closer to his old tamer.  
  
"Ta...ka... to..."  
  
The young boy fell to the ground next to Guilmon and gently places the digimon's head onto his lap. Furrowing his eyes in disbelief, he was at loss for words.  
  
"Wh- what happened, boy...?" he managed to let out from his tight throat.  
  
"Th-the digiworld... you... and the rest... have to help us... Destroyed... most of us... Destroyed... our homes..."  
  
"Who?" Takato asked furiously.  
  
"I knew... that peace wasn't going to last... long..." Guilmon said with a guilty smile.  
  
"What about Azulongmon and the other sovereigns?"  
  
"They... they... were sealed..."  
  
"Where are the others?"  
  
"They're inside me..."  
  
"What...?!"  
  
"Their figures... destroyed... but their data... is being preserved by me..." Guilmon coughed weakly.  
  
"But now... you... Guilmon..." Takato finally broke down. "I... have to take you to my house... to heal you, boy..." he said as he tried to carry Guilmon, but failing miserably.  
  
"Save your energy, Takato... I'm not going to last..."  
  
"No...no! You're going to stay alive!" Takato said desperately as he watched Guilmon's data slowly become distorted.  
  
"Don't worry, Takato... I believe you're going to save us... You're going to defeat it..."  
  
"Who, boy...? Who...?" Takato said as he collapsed onto Guilmon in horror.  
  
"Called itself... the... D... Assassin..."  
  
"D-Assassin...? No... No! Guilmon! You can't go!" he cried as Guilmon's data bit by bit began to disperse.  
  
"Don't worry... I'll be within you, Takatomon... Have... hope..." Guilmon barely managed to say as his whole body disappeared.  
  
Takato flung his fist onto the ground, causing tears from his eyes to fall. "Why... How did this happen... This *wasn't* supposed to happen..." He looked up at the data which was flying around the cave.  
  
"That data... if Guilmon was right... has the rest of the tamers' digimons'... data... as well..." After a few seconds, he began to notice that the data wasn't disappearing like it normally should.  
  
"What...?" he asked, confused. "Why isn't it... Hey!!!" Takato yelled as he watched the data fly rapidly into Takato's body, causing him to feel enormous shock.  
  
"What's... going... on?" Takato asked feebly before he passed out onto the ground.  
  
~*~  
  
"Thanks so much for the new body, Keisuke. Ugh... but you're so heavy..." the female voice complained as she swung his legs to and fro from the rail of the rooftops. "Oh well... at least I can fly even with your weighty body..." she muttered.  
  
Who exactly are you, you witch? Keisuke demanded in her mind.  
  
"Oh... your son probably met my 'mother' two years ago... I'm just cleaning up and continuing her dirty work," she replied with a crooked smile. "Now shut up, you insignificant bug. I have to continue collecting the energy to make my own body," she said haughtily as she broke connection with Keisuke.  
  
"Stupid fool... so easy to take control of his body. Ah well, enough about him. Hm... so many delicious excitement and energy here... Now the fun begins..." she murmured as she looked down upon the people below with a nasty grin.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Heeeee... the scene with Guilmon and Takato mite have been a little too dramatic. I'm really bad at making those scenes... . Ah well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope the use of the Japanese wasn't confusing. Sowie it took so long to put up! Ah yes... and thankies SOOOO much to those who reviewed! *cries* Never got that much reviews for one story with only two chapters... hah... I know I'm being pathetic. XP Ah well. Au revoir for now! (good bye for French. I think... x])  
  
P.S. to Cygnadex: Aiyeee! Thankies for telling me Rumiko's name. . Iono why but I can't change it in the second chapter. ; FF.net's being stubborn again. XD Oh well. Thanks for telling me though! ^-^  
  
IM: Digiberry // E-mail: mika_aka_digiberry@hotmail.com  
  
~*Mika*~  
  
[ Edit: 4-27-03 Waaaah... I feel so bad... I haven't updated in the longest of times... I'm really sorry. I had a humungous writer's block, and I still think so now (~.~;). Well, I did edit the chapters and other minor little things. Well, I really would like to thank Anon for pointing out all the shtuff I kinda forgot (^^;; Mucho grace, Anon) and the other reviewers who stood up for me from the flamer. But you know... I guess I kinda deserve that flame. Since Imma such a big braindeaded jerk. xX; *kOff* Well, check back later, cuz I think there's gonna be a chapter very soon! (Or at least I hope so... ;;;) ] 


	4. Surprises, Surprises

T_T; I'm so sorry everyone, for taking so long. I had a very big downtime and writer's block. I think I still do now. Oo; But, I would like to thank... the ones who were patient with me. (Though I don't think there is anyone at the moment. xX; Ack, I'm really sorry! T_T;) Oh, and mucho thanks goes to the ones who pointed out my mistakes. ^^; Mucho thanks to Anon. :D Thank you!  
  
GOMEN NASAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!! T0T;;;  
  
*kOff kOff* AnyhoO... on with the fic. ^-^  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Disclaimer: Anything you know or see that isn't mine, it isn't mine! So that means anything relating to Digimon isn't mine! So there! The only thing that's mine so far is my story! Don't copy! ^^;  
  
NOTE: If the text appears in reallie weird symbols and everything (xX; I hate it when it does that), just right click, and then click "Encoding". A list should appear next to it, and click "Unicode." It should look better after that. ^^; If it doesn't, please tell me in the reviews, okaie? :D  
  
~*~  
  
(Review from last time)  
  
"Thanks so much for the new body, Keisuke. Ugh... but you're so heavy..." the female voice complained as she swung his legs to and fro from the rail of the rooftops. "Oh well... at least I can fly even with your weighty body..." she muttered.  
  
Who exactly are you, you witch? Keisuke demanded in her mind.  
  
"Oh... your son probably met my 'mother' two years ago... I'm just cleaning up and continuing her dirty work," she replied with a crooked smile. "Now shut up, you insignificant bug. I have to continue collecting the energy to make my own body," she said haughtily as she broke connection with Keisuke.  
  
"Stupid fool... so easy to take control of his body. Ah well, enough about him. Hm... so many delicious excitement and energy here... Now the fun begins..." she murmured as she looked down upon the people below with a nasty grin.  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter 4  
  
~*~  
  
Ryo ran up the stairs in the building as fast as he could. Though he was tiring quickly, he put as much energy into himself as he could till he reached the roof. After reaching the highest floor, he ran towards the nearest exit and slammed the door open. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.  
  
"Dad?!" he asked, disbelievingly.  
  
Ryo's father sat on top of the rails with his legs swinging dangerously above the street below. He looked behind him, and seemed surprised at first, but then he began to smile maliciously. Ryo was disturbed by his behavior.  
  
"I don't get it... You don't seem drunk... What are you doing?" Ryo asked, apprehensively. 'Dad...?'  
  
Ryo's father turned around and went off the rails, placing his feet firmly against the ground. He leaned against the bars and looked up and down his son thoroughly. Ryo began slowly walking to his father. 'Something's wrong... I've never seen him act like this...'  
  
"So, you must be Ryo," his father said silkily. Ryo froze. His father's voice was a woman's voice. Ryo looked at his father in horror.  
  
"You're not my dad," he said flatly, tensing up. 'Who is this person? Why does he-I mean... she?-look like my father?' A disturbing thought struck him. 'A... a... hermaphrodite?!' Ryo felt very sick for a second. 'Ew... no, that can't be it... Uggh... Ewww...'  
  
"We meet at last Ryo Akiyama. I finally found one of you," she said with a cock of his head. Ryo felt goosebumps go up his arm. 'What is with this guy...?'  
  
"Who are you?" Ryo demanded. "You're not my father! Tell me who you are!"  
  
"That's... not important, Ryo. Hn... My, aren't you a cute thing?" she replied with a creepy look. Ryo was just right about to puke now. 'If ANYONE saw this scene... this is WRONG...'  
  
"I'm just borrowing your dad's body, dear boy. Ugh... I shouldn't have gone for him though... Maybe I should have taken Rumiko's body... So much easier," she complained as he dragged his feet around. Ryo clenched his fists. 'This thing... what has it done with my father?!'  
  
"Where is my dad?!" he yelled at him. His father grinned at him.  
  
"Don't worry, boy. He's still here... Just... You can say I'm the more dominant one," the voice replied with a devilish smirk. This infuriated Ryo even more.  
  
"Let my father go, you jerk! You have no right possessing his body!" Ryo exclaimed aloud.  
  
"Hn... You're right. Maybe I should go to someone else..." she said thoughtfully as she placed his father's index finger on his chin.  
  
Ryo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You... you..." he growled as he trembled with anger. "I won't allow you to do that!" He lunged at his father, attempting to deliver a blow, but before he reached his father, he saw an evil glint that came out his father's eye. His father lifted his hand so quickly and made some sort of blue forcefield before Ryo could even get close. The barrier caused Ryo to bounce off the shield and hit the ground rather painfully.  
  
"Oh, dearie me, Ryo. Did I hurt you?" she asked cruelly. "I'm sure if you hit me, I wouldn't be hurt. But your father will." He gave Ryo a nasty smirk. Ryo hit himself mentally. 'Damn... I didn't think...' He looked up and suddenly noticed blue winds surrounding him and his father. He looked around, alarmed.  
  
"What the...?" 'It's the same one I saw in the building. What is it?' he asked himself, frustrated. He looked up at his father, and saw him yawn and stretch.  
  
"This is boring... You're no fun," the voice pouted. "I think I'm going to go now." With that his father began slowly disappearing into the air. Ryo stared at him incredulously. 'What... what is this...?'  
  
"Wait, no!" he cried out. "Give me back my dad!!!"  
  
The voice cackled as the entire body was now part of the blue air. "I think you should worry more about your closest friend, Ryo... For you see... I destroyed his home..." she cackled mirthlessly. "And maybe the rest of his world along with his friends... Aww... Now, I feel bad... NOT!" She continued laughing insanely. Ryo felt his chest tighten. 'What is this...THING talking about?'  
  
Suddenly, the wind around started to blow fiercely, and Ryo could barely keep his feet planted firmly on the ground. He covered his eyes with his arms, since the winds began to irritate his eyes. Suddenly, he heard a voice in his ear talk quietly and eerily, causing a shiver to go up his spine.  
  
"We'll meet again, Ryo... And at that time... I'll be there to kill you. You... and your friends," she murmured dangerously. Ryo's eyes widened in horror. But before he could do anything, his father had disappeared and with the unearthly blue winds. Ryo was left standing there, stunned and horrified.  
  
'What just... happened...?'  
  
~*~  
  
Ruki grumbled as she got ready to pose for the very last shoot of the day. She didn't even know why she was doing this. Suddenly, she saw her mom flash a smile in her way from her office. Ruki raised an eyebrow at her mother, and then she rolled her eyes. That was the reason why she did this. She scoffed at herself. She couldn't believe that she had gotten this weak. Just a smile could now sway her into doing what the person wanted. She shook her head. 'The world is coming to an end...' she thought sarcastically.  
  
"Ok, Ruki. This is the last one, so let's make this one a good one," the photographer said as he began preparing his camera. Ruki sighed. 'Why... was I doing this again?'  
  
"This time, turn sideways and give a sad, melancholy expression, like someone who's lost something very precious of hers," he said as he looked towards her. Ruki did what he asked. He smiled gleefully. "Perfect, Ruki. Now stay like that. Hey! Turn on the fan!"  
  
"Aiite," responded one of the workers.  
  
Suddenly, there was a large gush of wind that blew against Ruki's body. It surprised her at first, but she just stood there, knowing that she would have to pose with her hair flying all over the place. But, the wind felt nice, compared to the stuffiness of this place. The photographer grinned and gave her a thumbs up. She rolled her eyes in reply.  
  
"Ok, now give me the same face as before, Ruki." After she had done so, he exclaimed out loud, "Perfect! Ok..."  
  
*Flash*  
  
Ruki blinked several times. God, she hated that annoying blinding light. Oh yes, she did. But she kept her lid cool and waited for her next instructions. Oh wait... That was it for today. Ruki let out a large sigh of relief. Finally. She was about to turn around to get ready to leave the studio, but a cheerful voice called out from behind her.  
  
"Ruki!"  
  
The auburn-haired girl turned around in surprise. The voice sounded familiar. She gave out a smile, realizing who it was.  
  
"Hey, Juri," she greeted with a small grin. The other girl smiled broadly in return. She looked at Ruki with deep admiration.  
  
"You looked so pretty in that last pose!" she exclaimed softly as she clapped her hands together lightly. Ruki let out a small chuckle.  
  
"Yeah, right," she replied as she started walking to where her backpack was. Juri giggled. She knew better than to argue, but she knew that she got her point across.  
  
"Want to walk home together?" Ruki suggested. Juri looked surprised, but it was quickly replaced with a face with eagerness.  
  
"Sure!"  
  
"Ok, hold on. I gotta change out of these ridiculous clothes and tell my mom I'm leaving earlier than her," Ruki replied. Juri nodded.  
  
"I'll just wait outside the studio, Ruki," Juri responded softly. Ruki nodded back at ther and then left to do what she had to do first.  
  
She quickly took off the modeling clothes, and changed into her old outfit. She sighed as she put away the more expensive attire into the changing closet. Suddenly, she saw a bright smile flash at her from the darkness of the closet. It startled Ruki, but then realized it was just her mind playing with her. She rolled her eyes. 'Great... Now I'm seeing things... Stupid lights...' However, the smile stuck to her mind. It was familiar... She widened her eyes in realization. 'That was Ryo's smile.' Today's encounter with Ryo rapidly replayed in her mind.  
  
"See you at school, pumpkin!"  
  
Her jaw suddenly stuck out, and her fingers curled up into a fist. 'That jerk... Calling me that like he did two years ago.' She let out a frustrated 'Ugh!' and shook her head. Suddenly, she realized something.  
  
'Wait a minute... He said he'll see me at school?' Her jaw dropped. 'NO WAY... That better not happen...UGH, I'm going to die if that boy is going to be in the same school as me...' Ruki was very irritated by now. She grabbed a hold of the nearest softest thing available, and screamed as loud as she could into the object.  
  
Rumiko looked up from her desk. 'Was that Rika?' She pondered for a few moments. 'Nah, probably not...' She continued doing her work without having the slightest thought that it was Rika.  
  
Ruki slammed the door of the dressing room closed. She breathed deeply and placed her hand into her bedraggled hair. 'Ok... Calm down, Ruki... Or else Mom or Juri will start fussing all over me.' She quickly tried to calm down, and fixed her hair. Afterwards, she strolled into her mother's office as casually as possible.  
  
"Kaa, I'm going home first," she said.  
  
"Oh," her mom replied, turning around to face her daughter. "Oh, ok, hon. Your grandmother should be home by now. So, walk home safe, ok?"  
  
"Sure, see you later," Ruki speedily said, leaving the office. 'Ah... I guess I was convincing enough...'  
  
"Juri!" she called out to her friend. Juri turned around and smiled pleasantly at Ruki. Suddenly, her smile vanished, instead replaced with a look of worry on her face.  
  
"Is there something wrong, Ruki?" she asked, concerned. Ruki looked at her in surprise. 'Damn. It knew it was going to be hard with Juri. She sees through everything, darnit.' Ruki shrugged inwardly. 'Oh well.'  
  
"No, I'm fine. Why do you say that, Juri?" Ruki lied in the most relaxed way she could manage.  
  
Juri continued looking at her with the same face. Ruki felt like strangling her. 'Stop. Looking. At. Me. Like. That.'  
  
The other girl sighed and gave up. "Well, ok. If there's something that's bothering you, you can just tell me, okay?"  
  
Ruki wasn't expecting that. Juri would usually persist in asking what was the matter, but guess not today. Oh well. "Yeah. Thanks, Juri," she replied, grateful of her friend's compassion. Juri smiled and nodded.  
  
Both had developed some sort of mutual friendship with one another. Though when they first met, Ruki was disgusted by Juri's frail personality, and Juri was plainly intimidated by the stronger girl. However, after the battle with the D-Reaper two years ago, they began to spend time with one another, since they were the only girls in the Tamers group, except for Alice and Shuichon. Both found out that they had many opposites and differences, but they both believed in many other things that seemed more important than what they argued on. For two years, they continued to learn from each other, till now. Now, Ruki openly smiles with Juri, which was a rare case still to her other friends. You can say... that they're best friends now. Strange... but true. Ruki saw Juri as a younger sibling whom to take of, while Juri looked up to Ruki like an older sister. It just happened to turn out that way.  
  
They walked down the streets of Shinjuku. Though their homes were in completely opposite directions, they both went down the same way, following the other.  
  
"Hey, Juri?" Ruki suddenly asked as they walked on the sidewalk.  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"Do you like someone?"  
  
Juri nearly choked on her own saliva. 'That was random.' Her face turned a beet red as she spluttered her denials. Ruki rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. Right." Ruki gave out a slight smirk. Juri was getting very nervous by her friend's smirk. Usually... smirks aren't supposed to be a good thing. Well, it wasn't this time either.  
  
"Juri, listen to me," Ruki said with her hands in her pockets. Juri looked at her friend, her face still red from Ruki's question.  
  
"It's ob-vee-uhs." Ruki emphasized each syllable to get the point clear. She nearly laughed out loud at her friend's reaction.  
  
Juri turned huffy. "I don't know what you're talking about." She began to walk faster than Ruki. Ruki couldn't contain her laughter. "You silly girl. Get back here," she said as she grabbed Juri's wrist gently. Juri leaned back with a cry of surprise. She turned around and faced Ruki with a pouty expression on her face.  
  
"Ruuuukiiii. Why are you telling me this now of all times?" she complained. Ruki scowled and ignored Juri's whine.  
  
"He likes you back, you know."  
  
Suddenly, Juri turned very quiet and very scarlet. Ruki gawked at her.  
  
"You mean you didn't know?!" she exclaimed in surprise. Oh man, she couldn't believe this. 'How could EITHER of them be so... BLIND?'  
  
Ruki sighed in exasperation. "You know what? Just forget what I just said. All of what I had just said. Ok, Juri?" she said, tiredly. Juri remained silent. Ruki sensed something wrong. 'What's wr-Oh.' Ruki then realized how shaken Juri was from her comment. 'Oops.'  
  
"Juri, it's okay. Don't worry," Ruki began saying. She felt awkward. Awfully awkward. "You like him back, too, don't you?"  
  
It took a while before Juri finally nodded. Ruki then tried to smile in the gentlest way she could manage. "Don't worry. It'll all work out, okay?" she said to Juri, trying to comfort her friend.  
  
'Oh jeez... what have I gotten myself into?'  
  
~*~  
  
Traffic lights lit up in the street of where the Matsuda bakery was located at. As fewer customers began to arrive, the two owners began putting their delectable items away.  
  
"Hon, what time is it?" Mrs. Matsuda asked as she started packing away the remaining bread.  
  
Her husband glanced at the clock. "It's 8:27PM. Why?"  
  
Mrs. Matsuda looked at him, worried. "Don't you think Takato and his friend is staying out really late, today?"  
  
Mr. Matsuda realized why she was worried. He frowned in disapproval. "They should be here by this time..." he murmured.  
  
Suddenly, there was a tinkling of bells at the front door. They both looked up and found Ryo coming into the bakery. He seemed rather depressed, however it diminished once he saw the expression on their faces.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked, apprehensive. "Where's Takato?"  
  
"He's not with you?" Mrs. Matsuda asked, anxious.  
  
"Un-no," Ryo replied, hesitantly. "We didn't see each other since the morning."  
  
Mr. Matsuda had put on a set jaw. Ryo didn't like the way things were going. "So... he's not here, yet?"  
  
Both of the Matsudas shook their heads. Ryo was beginning to feel very uneasy. "What time does Takato usually come home?"  
  
"He usually comes right after school," the mother replied. "Or at least by seven."  
  
Ryo glanced at the clock. '8:36PM. Holy shoot, where is he?'  
  
"Do you want me to look around town?" he asked Takato's parents. They remained quiet. Ryo began to feel panicky. 'This is my fault, isn't it? Oh jeez... I should go out and look for the kid.'  
  
"I'm going to go out and look for him," Ryo said as he turned around to leave the bakery once again. However, right when he took a step out of the shop, he noticed a police car coming towards the bakery. He stopped and looked at the car curiously, and was surprised when it had stopped right in front of him. Takato's parents also noticed the car, and they stepped outside of the building to see what was going on. The officer came out of his vehicle and greeted the parents courteously. Ryo just stared in wonder. 'Why was a police officer visiting a good family like the Matsudas at this time of the day?'  
  
"Good evening. Is this the Matsuda residence?" he asked politely.  
  
The two parents looked at each other, both confused, and then turned their attention to the officer. "Y-yes. It is. Is there anything wrong, officer?"  
  
He turned around and went to his car. Opening the front seat, he gently picked something or someone up in his arms. It looked like an unconscious kid. Ryo widened his eyes in realization.  
  
'"It's Takato!" he exclaimed. He quickly rushed over to the officer to see his friend. The parents followed suit, alarmed at their son's condition.  
  
"Oh my goodness, Takato, what happened?" his mother asked as his father took Takato out of the officer's arms.  
  
"I found him in a small cave in the local park. He was unconscious, but I didn't see any injuries on him. He must have fainted somehow," the officer informed the parents. They nodded understandingly, though both had signs of being upset. Ryo looked at Takato and frowned. Takato had the expression of pain on his face, but he lied in his father's arms limply. 'Something bad must have happened. Something really bad. '  
  
"Thank you so much, officer," Mrs. Matsuda said as she bowed at the man. He bowed in return and wished for Takato to get well soon. Takato's mother thanked him once more, and the officer promptly left. The two parents went into the bakery hurriedly to place their son onto a bed as quickly as possible. Ryo followed after them, ready to lend a hand if there was any needed.  
  
~*~  
  
O_O! I FINISHED! ahHhHhh. ... It's shorter though... than the previous chapters. xX; I'm really sorry about that. I just really wanted to bring out the next chapter as soon as I can. I'm planning to put the first day of school in the next chapter. oOoOo... Heehee... *planning all the evil things to do with Ruki and Ryo* Mu-Ha-Ha-Ha!!! xD okok... Sorry for the ENORMOUSLY long wait everyone... And please tell me if there is any mistake I need to fix! I did this chapter in a hurry, so I probably overlooked some things. Oh, and I know the conversation between Ryo and his father was quite confusing. It tried to make it not confusing as I could. ; Ack. Well, remember to review! :D Thanks for reading this much so far! It means a lot to me. :] Thank yoooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuu!!! T0T;;  
  
IM: Digiberry // E-mail: mika_aka_digiberry@hotmail.com  
  
~*Mika*~  
  
P.S.!! If you want me to inform you of the next chapters of my story, please put you e-mail address in the review, so that I can e-mail you the notification! Thankies! :D 


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